1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to roller skate shoes, and more particularly to a pair of roller skate shoes each comprising two foldable roller arrangements wherein each foldable roller arrangement is adapted for substantially supporting a pair of wheels thereon in a stable manner.
2. Description of Related Arts
Nowadays, roller skates are well known and have been considered as a formed of transportation, recreation, and exercise. Conventional roller skates each comprises a roller device permanently installed thereunder such that a player must carry an extra pair of shoe for interchange purpose, which is a hassle for the player.
As shown in FIG. 1, an improved pair of roller skate shoes is adapted for solving the above problem. Each roller skate shoe comprises a base 1A having two chambers 10A provided thereon and two roller devices 2A foldably received in the chambers 10A respectively in such a manner that the roller device 2A is folded into the chamber 10A for storage and unfolded out of the chamber 10A for usage. So, the player does not have to carry an extra pair of shoes everywhere. Each roller device 2A comprises an U-shaped supporting frame 21A under the base 1A of the roller skate shoe within the chamber 10A comprising a shaft 211A transversely mounted on the supporting frame 21A, and an U-shaped wheel frame 22A rotatably mounted on the shaft 211A comprising a wheel axle 221A transversely mounted on the wheel frame 22A wherein a wheel 222A is rotatably supported on the wheel axle 221A in such a manner that the wheel frame 22A is adapted for rotatably folding in the chamber 10A for storage purpose and rotatably folding out of the chamber 10A for use.
Such roller skate shoe further comprises locking means 23A mounted on the shaft 211A of the supporting frame 21A for locking the wheel frame 22A in position. The locking means 23A comprises a locker arm 231A slidably mounted on the shaft 211A of the supporting frame 21A wherein the locker arm 231A has a locking tip 2311A for blocking a rotational movement of the wheel frame 22A by the supporting frame 21A, and a compression spring 24A, which is coaxially mounted on the shaft 211A, having two ends biasing against the locker arm 231A and the wheel frame 22A for urging and retain the locker arm 231A in a locking position. In order to use the roller skate shoe, the player must use his or hand to pull the wheel frame 22A out of the chamber 10A in a rotatably movable manner until the locking tip 2311A of the locker arm 231A slid out of the supporting frame 21A so as to lock up the wheel frame 22A in position. For unlocking the wheel frame 22A, the player must use his or her hand again to push the locker arm 231A aside until the locking tip 2311A is moved away from the supporting frame 21A and then push the wheel frame 22A back into the chamber 10A.
While the foregoing disclosure of the conventional roller skate shoes, the shoes have several drawbacks. Each roller device 2A must have a relative larger size in order to rigidly support a downward force which is the weight of the player. In other words, the roller device 2A requires a bigger chamber 10A, especially the depth thereof, to fittedly store the roller device 2A therein such that the shoe must be increase its size and weight, which is an unreasonable afford for the player especially for a young child.
Thus, since the contacting area of the shoe is between the wheel 222A and the ground, the size of the wheel 222A is a main factor for stable manner. However, the wheel frame 22A can only carry one wheel 222A such that when a bigger wheel 222A is used, the size of the wheel frame 22A must be bigger than the size of the wheel 222A, Which will create the storage drawback as mentioned above. When a smaller wheel 222A is used, the young player may easily lose his or her balance so as to cause an unwanted injury to the young player. In fact, the U-shaped wheel frame 22A cannot provide a rigid structure for the wheel 222A supporting thereon so that the wheel frame 22A may be easily broken when an external force, such as a collusion force, exerted on the wheel frame 22A and cause major injury to the young player.
Moreover, the locking means 23A cannot securely hold the wheel frame 22A in order to prevent an unwanted rotational movement thereof. Since a coil spring 25A is used for retaining the wheel frame 22A rotatably sliding out of the chamber 10A, the locker arm 231A is also forced to push of the supporting frame 21A to lock up the wheel frame 22A as well. So, the wheel frame 22A may only be blocked to slide back to the chamber 10A until the locker arm 231A hits the supporting frame 21A such that an unwanted rotational movement of the wheel frame 22A will cause an unbalance of the roller skate shoe. Also, in the locked position, the locker arm 231A must be strong enough to bias against the rotating force of the wheel frame 22A. It is worth to mention that the rotating force will proportionally increase when the radially distance from the center is increased. In other words, the longer length of the locker arm 231A is, the greater rotational force of the locker arm 231A must be afforded. So, the locker arm 231A must be rigid enough to lock up the rotation of the wheel frame 22A.
Furthermore, the player must use his or her hand to pull out the wheel frame 22A and unlock the wheel frame 22A every time for use and storage respectively. It is a hassle for the player because the player must touch the wheel 222A even though the wheel 222A is dirty. Also, some players may have difficulties to bend down their body to fold and unfold the roller device 2A due to their physical abilities. They may merely take off their shoes to operate the folding and unfolding process. It is unreasonable that they have to take off their shoes every time, which is the same as the conventional roller skates.
A main object of the present invention is to provide roller skate shoes wherein each roller arrangement of the roller skate shoes comprises a pair of wheels rigidly supported on a wheel axle for increasing a contacting area between the wheels and the ground so as to provide a stable manner for a player.
Another object of the present invention is to provide roller skate shoes wherein each roller arrangement has relative small size and shape so as to reduce the size and weight of the shoe, which can also minimize the cost of the shoe as well.
Another object of the present invention is to provide roller skate shoes which comprises a locking means for locking up a wheel frame in position wherein an operation button is provided on an outer surface of the shoe for unlocking the wheel frame. In other words, the player does not require his or her hands to touch the wheels in order to unlock the wheel frame.
Another object of the present invention is to provide roller skate shoes wherein the locking means locks up the wheel axle by means of engagement so as to minimize the rotational force exerted on the locking means. In other words, the locking means can securely lock up the roller device in position.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides roller skate shoes, each comprising:
a shoe base having two receiving cavities provided thereunder at a front portion and a rear portion of the shoe base respectively;
a roller arrangement fittedly received in each receiving cavity comprising:
a supporting frame securely mounted on a ceiling of the receiving cavity comprising a supporting member extended downwardly;
a T-shaped wheel frame comprising a vertical wheel arm rotatably mounted on the supporting member of the supporting frame by a shaft and a horizontal wheel axle for rotatably supporting two wheels at two ends thereof; and
a resilient element which is disposed in the wheel frame for applying an urging pressure against the wheel frame so as to normally retain the wheel frame slid out of the receiving cavity; and
a locker means for securely locking the wheel frame in a rotatably movable manner selectively between a folded position and an unfolded position wherein in the folded position, the wheel frame is rotatably slid into the receiving cavity and in the unfolded position, the wheel frame is rotatably slid out of the receiving cavity.